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Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Term 4.
Hope that you have enjoyed a wonderful week and have had the opportunity to connect with family and friends.
We welcome back Kindergarten, Year 1 and their teachers this Monday. We are extremely excited for the reurn of students and staff to our school. The end of Term 2 Friday 25 June, was the last time we were together as a school community. Thankfully, we will be reunited after 122 days (4 months) on Monday 25 October when our Year 2 to Year 6 students and staff commence face to face teaching once again.
As students, staff, parents and carers, we should be extremely proud of what we have achieved through our collective efforts during this time. It has not been easy - personally and/or professionally. It has been challenging, frustrating, isolating and it continually tested our patience and character - it's been tough. Together we made it through this COVID-19 lock-down phase because of the strength of our culture, our character and the ability to lean on family, friends and our school for support, guidance and reassurance. For this, I am truly grateful and sincerely thankful.
In saying this, we must not become complacent and/or be at ease with the lessening of restrictions and return of our students to school. It is both necessary and critically important that we continue to followed advise from NSW Health and CEDoW as we "Return to School' under Level 3/Level 3 Plus protocols. Please find below essential important information to support us during this 'Return to School' transition.
Morning Arrival
- For Week 3 only, morning arrival at school from 8:30am for Kinder (East) and Year 1 (West) on the Front Cement. Students of essential workers (2-6) to arrive on the Paddock.
- From Week 4 morning arrival at school from 8:30am for K-2 on Front Cement, Years 3-4 on the Infants Playground and Years 5-6 on the Paddock
Afternoon Dismissal (inclusive of wet weather)
- Parent Pick-up from Midgley Street (outside of Paddock) or Princes Hwy (in front of Church) at 3:00pm, Bus Lines on Front Cement at 3:05pm and Car lines from back of church at 3:10pm.
- In wet weather, Parent Pick Up to assemble under covered walkway on Paddock, Car lines undercover at Parish Centre and Bus Lines in Basement
Parents, carers and grandparents are not to enter the school grounds. If visiting the office is essential then parents, carers and grandparents must sign-in via SCC QR Code, sanitise and be wearing a face mask.
We are strongly recommending that students wear face masks at school. Please refer to the CEDoW SCC letter and Level 3/Level 3 Plus restrictions in the newsletter article 'Return to School' for additional information.
In relation to staffing, Mrs Tyrrell's (6G and Instructional Coach) maternity leave will begin from Monday 1 November (Week 5). From this time Mrs Barrett will work with 6G Monday's to Friday's for the remainder of the school year. Mrs Perre will be our new Instructional Coach, with Mrs Bower continuing to support 2G with Mrs Perre. We welcome Mr Lowrie who will join the 2B team and support Mrs Leonard on a Friday. These changes will commence in Week 5.
Laura Russell is our new CatholicCare School Counsellor. She has a Bachelor of Social Work and Diploma of Early Childhood Education. She has experience in providing counselling, case work and group work to children, adolescents and families within her previous roles with the Illawarra Drug and Alcohol Service, West Street Centre and Neami National. Laura will be a wonderful addition to our school community.
Thank once again for your support and commitment, patience, dedication and persistence throughout the last 122 days. Enjoy the next 2 weeks. Stay safe and connected.
Take care
Brad Colquhoun - Principal
OCTOBER – MONTH OF THE ROSARY
The month of October is dedicated to praying the Holy Rosary. The Rosary is a prayer linked closely to our Blessed Mother Mary and throughout history the Rosary has been prayed for many intentions. Although our Family Prayer bags cannot be sent home you may still like to pray the Hail Mary or even a decade of the rosary with your family.
In the Catholic Church, the rosary is one of the most cherished prayers. For Catholics, it is a powerful prayer of intercession to the Blessed Mother. Praying the rosary is promoted as a means of strengthening one’s faith, resisting evil, growing spiritually, and generally benefiting society.
If the rosary is not a part of your regular prayer life right now, here are five key things you need to know to get started.
1. We don’t have to pray the rosary all at once. We can choose to divide it up, saying just a decade or two at a time at different points throughout the day; on the way to work, in between meetings, while folding laundry or doing dishes.
2. We can pray it anywhere! The rosary is like a portable chapel we can keep in our pocket and pull out anytime, anyplace. Whether we have a sudden, urgent situation to present to God in prayer or we just want to fill some of our day with thoughts of God, all we need to do is pull out our beads and turn to the Lord in this prayer.
3. We can pray the rosary in different ways, customizing it to fit the needs of the moment. We might focus on the words of the prayers, at other times, we might reflect on the mysteries of Christ’s life, his transfiguration, or his death on the cross, etching the Gospel on our hearts.
4. It’s easy to fit the rosary into your schedule. If an urgent need comes up in the day – I can say a quick decade right on the spot. In just two and a half minutes, I can offer a special gift to God – one decade of the rosary – for that particular intention.
5. Even if I’m not able to give the rosary my full attention, it’s still worth praying. I might not always be able to completely unplug mentally from the concerns of the day. But offering God a decade or two in the midst of my daily life gives him something beautiful, even if I give it without my full, undivided attention. I’m giving God some space in my day and filling it with words of praise for him.
OCTOBER – CATHOLIC MISSION’S WORLD MISSION MONTH
This month St Columbkille's is taking part in Socktober, an initiative of Catholic Mission Australia that raises awareness and funds for critical projects supporting vulnerable children in developing countries.
The focus of the fundraising efforts for World Mission Month, is a Kindergarten in Bangkok that provides a safe learning environment for children and life-changing empowerment for their mothers. The pandemic has caused a lot of uncertainty here in Australia, but the situation is a lot more difficult overseas, and part of being a Catholic community is always looking to support those in greater need than ourselves.”
For this reason, on the Friday of Week 4, (Friday 29th October), students will be able to wear colourful socks with their uniform to promote Socktober. We ask that students participating bring in a gold coin donation. Let’s give generously!
Also thank you to those students and families who were able to join our zoom liturgy for World Mission Month last Wednesday. Some of our Mini Vinnies students, with the guidance of Mrs Tirchett, were able to be a part of this liturgy, so a big thank you to them.
MASS AT HOME
If you would like to continue to pray the Mass in these times a good site is:
https://massforyou.com.au/
Fr Richard is streaming Masses for St Columbkille’s on Tues- Fri and then the Sunday Mass which goes up on Sat night for the Vigil. Masses can be found at www.corrimalparish.org.au
CHRISTMAS ART COMPETITION
Due to the extended lockdown period and in maintaining the integrity and authenticity of students’ entries, St Columbkille’s made the difficult decision not to partake in the Christmas Art Competition this year.
A number of schools within the diocese also made this choice. It is disappointing for those creative students who did not get this opportunity, however future competitions/exhibitions will allow them to showcase their artistic talents. Thank you for your understanding.
Mrs Joanne Herring - Religious Education Co-ordinator
The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary.
Last week we celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary [7 October 2021].
The word Rosary comes from the Latin word rosarius, which translates as ‘garland’ or ‘bouquet of flowers’. We could say therefore that the prayer of the Rosary is a bouquet of prayers offered to God.
The Rosary is a prayer loved by countless saints and people all over the world. Today we will reflect on some wisdom from the apostolic letter by Saint John Paul II Rosarium Virginis Mariae on the Most Holy Rosary.
No one has ever devoted themselves more to the contemplation of Christ as faithfully as Mary who lived with her eyes and heart always fixed on Christ.
The Rosary is Mary’s memories of various moments of her son’s life. In this way, Mary constantly shares with the Church the ‘mysteries’ of her Son. When reciting the Rosary, we join in Mary’s contemplation of her memories with our eyes and hearts fixed on Christ.
In contemplating Christ, we open our hearts and minds to receiving the mystery of God’s perfect love, in doing so we are being changed into Christ’s likeness.
After 12 weeks of remote learning and teaching, we look forward to returning to the classroom for face to face learning and teaching in Weeks 3 and 4.
I will be supporting Kinder and Year 1 in Week 3, on Monday and Wednesday; and supporting Years 2 - 6 on Tuesday and Wednesday during Week 4. I will also be supporting the students transition back to the routines of the classroom and school life, along with providing small groups of students with social and emotional learning experiences that will ensure that the beginning of face to face learning is a positive and happy experience for all.
Mrs Pauline Leonard- Leader of PB4L and SEL
Several students from Years 3-6 participated in the SPLICED program this year, “The Power of the Imaginative Mind”.
Three students have completed their work after working closely with Mr John Charadia. Congratulations to Talon Mayo, Dylan Fang, Claude Vincent and Sabina Santillan.
The focus of each of their projects is listed below:
Claude: "Robotics: The Imaginative Mind in the Design and Purpose of Robots in Life Today"
Claude’s slideshow informs and entices the imagination on the secrets of robotics and their value in today’s world and beyond.
Talon: "Together as One: Stories of Equality and Change"
I want the world to know that racism should not be tolerated. My generation needs to hear the stories of the people who made a big impact on our world. These people believed that it doesn’t matter what the colour of your skin is, how rich or poor you are or where you come from, everyone should be treated equally and with love and respect.
Dylan: "Team Sports: Adjusting, Evaluating and Improving the Game"
Imagination is a powerful way to enhance a sports performance because it helps you understand the game with great interest and enthusiasm.
This STEM Challenge Is No Rubbish At All!
We wish Ciara Pons (Year 3) and Kaylan Pons (Year 1) the very best in their STEM MAD 2021 Challenge Entry.
Ciara and Kaylan took up the challenge presented to the students by Mrs Sue Smyth, and under her guidance and mentoring ,
they have now submitted their work, in the form of an interactive slideshow and "pitch" movie to CEDoW with the chance of being crowned "National Finalist".
We, at SCC, are extremely proud of Ciara, Kaylan, Mrs Smyth and the Pons family with this project submission and wish you all the best!
(STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)
(CEDoW: Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong)
If you are looking at purchasing a new iPad for your child moving into Year 5 2022, the following flyer from EduCom It will be of interest. Further information regarding 1:1 iPad Learning in Stage 3 will be shared in coming weeks.
Please feel free to contact me, shoud you have any questions.
Mrs Maria Disibio - Leader of Technology
October is Mental Health Month and the Way Ahead Mental Health Association of NSW theme is, Tune In. Mental health is not a fixed or static state and we can move between thriving and struggling at different times in our lives and Tuning In to yourself means being present to what is happening with you and taking actions to manage your situation.
Taking time to check where your mental health is sitting on the mental health continuum is a simple but effective strategy in managing your mental health and identifying ways to take action.